The number of persons living in the housing unit. All occupants are counted--not just those related to the householder, but also any lodgers, roomers, boarders, partners, wards, foster children, and resident employees who share the living quarters.

Figures for "persons in households" match those for "persons in units" in tabulations based on complete-count data. In sample tabulations, they may differ because of the weighting process. The phrase "persons in household" is used for population tabulations, "persons in unit" for housing items. "One-person households" and "persons living alone" are synonymous.

See also: "Family."

Excerpt from:

Social Explorer, U.S. Census Bureau; Census of Population and Housing, 1980 [United States]: Summary Tape File 1a [Computer file]. ICPSR version. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census [producer], 1982. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2002.

Households are classified by type according to sex of the householder and the presence of relatives based on questions asked on sex and household relationship. This item was determined on a complete-count basis.

A household including a family (See: "Family"). A family household may also include nonrelatives living with the family. The following subcategories are frequently provided: married-couple family; family with male householder, no wife present; and family with female householder, no husband present (see: "Family Type").

Householder - The person who was reported in column 1. This reference person was to be the person or one of the persons in whose name the home was owned or rented. If there was no such person, any adult household member at least 15 years old who was not a roomer, boarder, or paid employee was to be reported in column 1. In complete-count tabulations, the number of householders is the same as the number of households or occupied housing units. In sample tabulations, the numbers may not always be the same because of differences in weighting sample data.

Family householder - A householder living with one or more persons related to him or her by birth, marriage, or adoption.

Nonfamily householder - A householder living alone or only with persons not related to him or her.

For most tabulations, spouse is defined as the husband or wife of the householder, living with householder. This category may include persons in common-law marriages as well as persons in formal marriages; it does not include a partner or roommate of the opposite sex. In complete-count tabulations, the number of spouses is the same as the number of married-couple families or married-couple family households. The number of spouses, however, is generally less than half of the number of married persons with spouse present" in sample tabulations, since only spouses of householders are specifically identified as "spouse." Sample tabulations of the number of married persons with spouse present include subfamilies (see definition under Family) as well as married-couple families.

A never-married child under 18 years who is a son, daughter, stepchild, or adopted child of the householder. In certain tabulations, own children are further classified as living with two parents or with one parent only. Own children of the householder living with two parents are by definition found only in married-couple families.

An "own child" or any other family member (regardless of marital status) who is under 18 years, except the householder or spouse. Foster children are not included since they are not related to the householder.

A household member related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption, but not included specifically in another relationship category. The scope of this category may differ from table to table, depending what other relationship categories are included. In detailed tabulations (STF 2 , STF 5, or PC80-l-D) the following categories may also be shown:

In complete-count tabulations, the father or mother of the householder, including a stepparent or adoptive parent. On sample basic records and microdota files, fathers- and mothers-in-law constitute a separate category coded from write-in responses under "other relative" on the questionnaire. One STF 5 and PC80-1-D tabulation includes both parents and parents-in-law in the same category.

In complete-count tabulations, the brother or sister of the householder, including stepbrothers, stepsisters, and brothers and sisters by adoption. On sample basic records and microdata files, brothers- and sisters-in-law constitute a separate category coded from write-in responses. One STF 5 and PC80-1-D tabulation includes brothers- and sisters-in-law along with brothers and sisters in the same category.

(Treated-as categories of household relationship for purposes of tabulation. For definitions, see: Group Quarters, Persons In.) Persons in group quarters are excluded from counts of persons in households.Responses to the household relationship item were also used in defining families, and subfamilies (see: "Family;" "Family Type;" "Household Type"). Tabulations frequently report relationship for persons in family households separately from persons in nonfamily households.

The question was revised from 1970 to replace the head-of-household category with a format using a reference person, i.e., the "person in column 1." 1980 householders differ from 1970 household heads primarily where the wife in a married-couple family is listed as the "person in column 1." In 1970, the husband was automatically assumed to be the "head" of such a family. In 1980 tabulations, the substitution of one spouse for the other as the reference person may affect certain of the classifications, such as "parent" or "brother or sister," within the "other relative" grouping. The person in whose name the house or apartment is owned or rented may in a few cases differ from the person considered by other household members as the "head, but this is expected to affect the classification of relatively few households.The 1970 questionnaire category "other relative of head" was replaced on the questionnaire by three categories, "brother/sister," "father/mother," and "other relative." Since the category "patient or inmate" is marked only by census enumerators, it was moved to the bottom of the form in a space reserved for "census use only." New nonrelative categories include "partner, roommate and "paid employee." The former question asking relationship to head of family or household was asked from 1880 to 1970.